Permit Expediting in Fort Lauderdale

Permitting in Fort Lauderdale: what actually governs your file

Fort Lauderdale reviews its own work. A package assembled to Broward County conventions will not necessarily clear here, and these are the differences that matter most.

Local registration through LauderBuild is required

Contractors must register with the city through LauderBuild in addition to state licensure or a Broward County Certificate of Competency. Required uploads include a city-specific contractor registration form, the state licence or county certificate, proof of liability insurance naming the city, and a workers' compensation certificate or exemption letter. Permits will not issue against expired credentials.

HVHZ, with engineering required on accessory structures

Broward is an HVHZ county under Florida Building Code Chapter 16, with design wind speeds of roughly 156–180 mph by risk category. Sheds and other accessory structures in the HVHZ need signed and sealed engineering or state or Miami-Dade product approval rather than standard prescriptive details.

The Building Safety Inspection Program starts at 25 years

Fort Lauderdale administers a Broward County Board of Rules and Appeals inspection programme applying to most commercial and multifamily buildings 25 years or older, with re-inspection every 10 years and a 180-day submission window from notice. Federal and state buildings, Broward Schools, residential of four units or fewer and three storeys or fewer, fee-simple townhouses and structures under 3,500 square feet are exempt. Submissions go through LauderBuild from a licensed engineer or architect.

Elevation certificates on all new construction and substantial improvements

The city requires elevation certificates prepared by licensed surveyors, architects or engineers for all new construction and substantial improvements, submitted to the city's Floodplain Manager as part of the permit process.

Historic Preservation Board review runs ahead of permitting

Development affecting designated historic resources goes through the city's Historic Preservation Board and requires a Certificate of Appropriateness, coordinated through Urban Design & Planning before Building permitting.

Filing with City of Fort Lauderdale Development Services Department, Permitting Services

Submittals go through LauderBuild, an Accela Citizen Access system.

Contractor registration in Fort Lauderdale

LauderBuild registration is mandatory on top of the state licence or Broward Certificate of Competency, and lapsed insurance or workers' compensation documentation will stop a permit from issuing even mid-project.

City or county? Check the parcel first

Fort Lauderdale abuts Wilton Manors, Oakland Park, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, Dania Beach and Plantation, and all of them permit separately. On a boundary parcel the mailing address is not the answer.

The parcel record settles this, not the envelope. We check it against the municipal boundary map at the start of every file, and you can do the same with our free building department lookup before you call anyone.

Where in Fort Lauderdale we file

We file across the city — Downtown and Flagler Village, Las Olas and the Isles, Victoria Park, Rio Vista, Coral Ridge, Harbor Beach and the Sistrunk corridor.

Whatever the jurisdiction, the work itself is the same set of services: see the full list of permitting services, or start with permit facilitation and filing if the permit simply needs to get filed and driven to issuance.